MASTER'S DEGREE · NATIONAL DEGREE OUTCOMES
Is a master's degree in Civil Engineering worth it?
Compare cost, debt and earnings across 82 college programs with reportable data.
Personal baseline needed
$96,805 in median year-4 earnings
A credible return for this credential must start with what the student would otherwise earn. The federal data does not provide that personal baseline.
$96,805Median year-4 earnings
$18,553Average institution net-price context
Not availableMedian federal debt
Start with your decision
What do you need to compare?
Outcomes at a glance
$96,805Typical earnings four years after completion
$97,639Average earnings five years after completion
Not availableTypical federal student debt
66thEarnings percentile among the same degree level
12Degrees awarded in 2024–25
82College programs reporting earnings
Degree counts come from the IPEDS Fall 2025 provisional release and cover 5 matched college records. Colleges without a match are not estimated.
Four useful answers about Civil Engineering
How much do Civil Engineering master's degree graduates earn?
The national median is $96,805 four years after completion across reportable master's degree programs in this federal field.
How much federal debt do graduates have?
A national median federal-debt figure is not reportable for this degree in the current release.
Does the college matter for Civil Engineering?
Yes. The middle half of reporting programs ranges from $91,116 to $103,805 in observed year-4 earnings.
What careers are related to Civil Engineering?
DegreeVerdict links this field to 7 displayed occupations using the official federal CIP–SOC crosswalk. Occupational wages are career context, not graduate salary promises.
More schooling changes both the cost and the outcome.
Compare the same field at each degree level with reportable data. These are separate groups of graduates, so the differences do not prove that an additional degree caused higher earnings.
OPEN PROFILE
Associate's Degree
- Year-4 earnings
- $70,850
- Federal debt
- Not available
- Programs in the comparison
- 1
Bachelor's Degree
- Year-4 earnings
- $85,076
- Federal debt
- $24,667
- Programs in the comparison
- 238
Master's Degree
- Year-4 earnings
- $96,805
- Federal debt
- Not available
- Programs in the comparison
- 82
Where the middle half of programs lands
Year‑4 earnings differ by college. This band shows the 25th percentile, national median and 75th percentile among reporting programs.
Median
25th percentile$91,116National median$96,80575th percentile$103,805
82 programs report year‑4 earnings.BEFORE YOU CHOOSE
Compare price, debt and earnings together
SHORTLIST BY QUESTION
Three useful places to start
Each choice answers a different question. These are observed signals, not an overall winner.
PRICE × EARNINGS MAP
Where colleges sit for this exact degree
Move left for a lower annual college-wide net price and up for higher observed year-4 earnings.
$120,234Observed year-4 earnings$100,767
University of Southern California$32,740 price · $130,675 earningsCalifornia State University, Los Angeles$3,967 price · $120,651 earningsNorth Carolina State University at Raleigh$17,303 price · $120,234 earningsManhattan University$27,256 price · $119,967 earningsUniversity of California, San Diego$12,470 price · $112,223 earningsStanford University$13,807 price · $112,118 earningsJohns Hopkins University$18,809 price · $111,986 earningsColumbia University in the City of New York$21,590 price · $111,924 earningsCalifornia State Polytechnic University-Pomona$11,531 price · $110,863 earningsMississippi State University$17,595 price · $110,821 earningsWayne State University$12,766 price · $108,995 earningsCalifornia State University, Fullerton$6,555 price · $108,826 earningsRutgers University-New Brunswick$24,406 price · $108,638 earningsVillanova University$43,756 price · $108,449 earningsUniversity of Washington-Seattle Campus$14,091 price · $108,274 earningsCalifornia State University, Sacramento$9,338 price · $108,193 earningsNew Jersey Institute of Technology$16,504 price · $107,682 earningsUniversity of California, Davis$14,741 price · $106,894 earningsCalifornia Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo$16,665 price · $106,004 earningsUniversity of Kansas$18,059 price · $105,565 earningsCalifornia State University, Northridge$7,021 price · $104,388 earningsThe University of Texas at San Antonio$10,836 price · $103,805 earningsUniversity of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus$30,434 price · $103,788 earningsUniversity of California, Los Angeles$12,548 price · $103,685 earningsUniversity of Illinois Urbana-Champaign$14,355 price · $103,656 earningsGeorge Mason University$17,915 price · $103,586 earningsBrigham Young University$15,564 price · $103,440 earningsUniversity of Alaska Anchorage$15,301 price · $103,070 earningsNortheastern University$30,915 price · $100,767 earningsVirginia Polytechnic Institute and State University$24,953 price · $99,698 earnings
$6,555Annual college-wide average net price$30,915
Choose colleges offering this exact degree
Start with the highest-earning reported programs below, or open the full directory to search every college.
30 shortlist matchesSelect up to four · 25 shown
Search every reporting program →
See the spread, not just the national number.
1University of Southern California$130,6752California State University, Los Angeles$120,6513North Carolina State University at Raleigh$120,2344Manhattan University$119,9675University of California, San Diego$112,2236Stanford University$112,1187Johns Hopkins University$111,9868Columbia University in the City of New York$111,9249California State Polytechnic University-Pomona$110,86310Mississippi State University$110,821Observed year-4 earnings · top displayed records are not a universal ranking
Jobs this degree may lead to
Federal education-to-career links identify related occupations. They do not imply that every graduate enters the same job.
Pay and projected demand
Related careers do not share one outlook
Bubble size = annual openings2025–35 national projection
Higher median wage ↑
-7%Projected employment growth →12%
Occupation wages describe workers in these jobs, not graduates of this degree. BLS projections are national estimates and do not guarantee hiring.
Architectural and Engineering Managers$171,270 median wage220,260 jobs nationwide+5.5% projected growth through 2035 · 14,900 openings a yearTypical entry education: Bachelor's degree$120,810–$262,760 typical wage rangeEngineering Teachers, Postsecondary$109,270 median wage40,270 jobs nationwide+7.8% projected growth through 2035 · 3,900 openings a yearTypical entry education: Doctoral or professional degree$61,550–$210,370 typical wage rangeCivil Engineers$100,840 median wage367,840 jobs nationwide+6.4% projected growth through 2035 · 22,700 openings a yearTypical entry education: Bachelor's degree$68,240–$163,220 typical wage rangeEngineers, All Other$122,930 median wage154,070 jobs nationwide+3.7% projected growth through 2035 · 8,800 openings a yearTypical entry education: Bachelor's degree$66,810–$189,950 typical wage rangeEnvironmental Engineers$107,110 median wage38,340 jobs nationwide+6.3% projected growth through 2035 · 2,300 openings a yearTypical entry education: Bachelor's degree$69,990–$162,220 typical wage rangePetroleum Engineers$144,910 median wage18,060 jobs nationwide+2.0% projected growth through 2035 · 1,000 openings a yearTypical entry education: Bachelor's degree$81,440–$253,200 typical wage rangeMining and Geological Engineers, Including Mining Safety Engineers$106,220 median wage6,080 jobs nationwide+3.8% projected growth through 2035 · 300 openings a yearTypical entry education: Bachelor's degree$67,490–$169,990 typical wage range
BLS May 2025 wages and 2025–35 projections. Career figures describe occupations, not graduates of a specific college.
Where this degree has enough data to compare
State pages are published only when at least five operating colleges report year-4 earnings for this exact field and credential.
This page keeps the field and credential level fixed. Federal categories can still combine multiple catalog programs or concentrations. Automated ROI is limited to associate and bachelor’s degrees because institution-wide annual net price is not a reliable proxy for short certificate prices. ROI is an illustrative scenario, not a federal determination.